Hybrid Lens And Method Of Manufacturing The Same
A hybrid lens includes a lens substrate made of glass material, and a plastic layer formed and coating round the lens substrate. An appropriate portion of the outer surfaces of the plastic layer is defined as a datum face. A method of manufacturing the foregoing hybrid lens is described hereinafter. Firstly, the lens substrate is fastened in a shaping cavity of a corresponding shaping mold with an appropriate portion of the inside of the shaping cavity defined as a shaping datum. Secondly, a predetermined amount of transparent plastic is poured into the shaping cavity. Next, the transparent plastic is hardened to form the plastic layer round the lens substrate, and accordingly, the datum face is formed on the plastic layer by means of the shaping datum. Lastly, the shaping mold is opened to obtain the hybrid lens.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a lens technology, and more particularly to a hybrid lens and a method of manufacturing the hybrid lens.
2. The Related Art
With the development of microcircuitry and multimedia technology, digital cameras are now in widespread use. Many of portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones and the like, are now equipped with a digital camera. Optical lenses become a key element of the digital cameras. Conventionally, the lenses in the digital cameras are made of glass or plastic. However, single lenses made of either glass or plastic cannot meet the demands of both low cost and high image quality of digital cameras. Recently, so-called hybrid lenses have been developed to overcome the above problems, wherein the hybrid lens has a better performance than the plastic lens and a lower cost than the glass lens.
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An object of the present invention is to provide a hybrid lens adapted for being assembled in a digital product and a method of manufacturing the hybrid lens. The hybrid lens includes a lens substrate made of glass material, and a plastic layer formed and coating round the lens substrate. The plastic layer is made of transparent plastic material. An appropriate portion of the outer surfaces of the plastic layer is defined as a datum face capable of rightly assembling and positioning the hybrid lens in the digital product.
The method of manufacturing the above-mentioned hybrid lens is described hereinafter. Firstly, the lens substrate is fastened in a shaping cavity of a corresponding shaping mold, wherein an appropriate portion of the inside of the shaping cavity is defined as a shaping datum. Secondly, a predetermined amount of transparent plastic is poured into the shaping cavity. Next, the transparent plastic is hardened to form the plastic layer round the lens substrate, and accordingly, the datum face is formed on the plastic layer by means of the shaping datum. Lastly, the shaping mold is opened to obtain the hybrid lens.
As described above, the datum face of the hybrid lens of the present invention is directly formed on the plastic layer in the process of molding the plastic layer. Therefore, the hybrid lens having the datum face of the plastic material takes a relatively lower cost and further gains a good yield and a simple manufacture process so that can be mass produced.
The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
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As described above, the datum face 1231, 3321 of the hybrid lens 100, 300 of the present invention is directly formed on the plastic layer 120, 330 in the process of molding the plastic layer 120, 330. Therefore, the hybrid lens 100, 300 having the datum face 1231, 3321 of the plastic material takes a relatively lower cost and further gains a good yield and a simple manufacture process so that can be mass produced.
The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. For example, the plastic layer of the hybrid lens may be formed to partly or fully coat the lens substrate. The incidence surface and the emission surface of the hybrid lens may be any one of or a combination of at least two selected from a plane, a spherical surface, an aspherical surface or a Fresnel surface etc. In the method of manufacturing the hybrid lens, the transparent plastic material may be chemosetting plastic, thermosetting plastic or ultraviolet-curing plastic and so on. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to those skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. A hybrid lens adapted for being assembled in a digital product, comprising:
- a lens substrate made of glass material; and
- a plastic layer formed and coating round the lens substrate, the plastic layer being made of transparent plastic material, a portion of the outer surfaces of the plastic layer being defined as a datum face capable of assembling and positioning the hybrid lens in the digital product.
2. The hybrid lens as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastic layer includes a first coating portion formed on an incidence surface of the lens substrate, a second coating portion formed on an emission surface of the lens substrate, and a third coating portion formed on the other outer surfaces of the lens substrate except the incidence surface and the emission surface and connected between the first coating portion and the second coating portion, the datum face is directly formed by the outer surface of the third coating portion.
3. The hybrid lens as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastic layer includes two separated parts designated as a first plastic layer and a second plastic layer, the first plastic layer is formed on an incidence surface of the lens substrate, the second plastic layer is spaced from the first plastic layer and includes a first coating portion formed on an emission surface of the lens substrate and a second coating portion formed on the other outer surfaces of the lens substrate except the incidence surface and the emission surface, the second coating portion is positioned between the first plastic layer and the first coating portion and connected with the first coating portion, the datum face is directly formed by the outer surface of the second coating portion connected with the first coating portion.
4. The hybrid lens as claimed in claim 1, wherein incidence and emission surfaces of the hybrid lens are any one of or a combination of at least two selected from a plane, a spherical surface, an aspherical surface or a Fresnel surface.
5. A method of manufacturing a hybrid lens, comprising the steps of:
- fastening a lens substrate in a shaping cavity of a corresponding shaping mold with a portion of the inside of the shaping cavity defined as a shaping datum;
- pouring a predetermined amount of transparent plastic into the shaping cavity;
- hardening the transparent plastic to form a plastic layer round the lens substrate, accordingly, forming a datum face on the plastic layer by means of the shaping datum; and
- opening the shaping mold to obtain the hybrid lens.
6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the shaping mold has two designated as a first shaping mold and a second shaping mold, the first shaping mold opens a first shaping cavity thereon and the second shaping mold opens a second shaping cavity thereon, the shaping datum is formed by a portion of the inside of at least one selected from the first shaping cavity and the second shaping cavity.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first shaping mold and the second shaping mold are mated with each other and the first shaping cavity communicates and is mated with the second shaping cavity so as to once mold the plastic layer of the hybrid lens, the inside of the first shaping cavity protrudes to form a plurality of first fixing portions and the inside of the second shaping cavity protrudes to form a plurality of second fixing portions, the lens substrate is fastened by the fixing portions.
8. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the transparent plastic material is chemosetting plastic, thermosetting plastic or ultraviolet-curing plastic.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 24, 2009
Publication Date: Oct 28, 2010
Inventors: Yuan-Lin Lee (Hemei Jen), Wei Shen (Hemei Jen), Yu-Chien Yang (Hemei Jen)
Application Number: 12/430,051
International Classification: G02B 1/10 (20060101); B29D 11/00 (20060101);